Lore

Talon's earliest memories are the darkness of Noxus' underground passages and the reassuring steel of a blade. He remembers no family, warmth, or kindness. Instead, the clink of stolen gold and the security of a wall at his back are all the kinship he has ever craved. Kept alive only by his quick wits and deft thievery, Talon scraped out a living in the seedy underbelly of Noxus. His mastery of the blade quickly marked him as a threat, and Noxian guilds sent assassins to him with a demand: join their ranks or be killed. He left the bodies of his pursuers dumped in Noxus' moat as his response.

The assassination attempts grew increasingly dangerous until one assailant met Talon blade-for-blade in a match of strength. To his surprise, Talon was disarmed and facing down his executioner's sword when the assassin revealed himself to be General Du Couteau. The General offered Talon the choice between death at his hand, or life as an agent of the Noxian High Command. Talon chose life, on the condition that his service was to Du Couteau alone, for the only type of orders he could respect were from one he could not defeat. Talon remained in the shadows, carrying out secret missions on Du Couteau's orders that took him from the frigid lands of Freljord to the inner sanctums of Bandle City. When the general vanished, Talon considered reclaiming his freedom, but he had gained immense respect from Du Couteau after years in his service. He became obsessed with tracking down the general's whereabouts. Talon's suspicions led him to the doors of the Institute of War, where he joined the League of Legends in order to find those responsible for Du Couteau's disappearance.

"The three deadliest blademasters in all of Valoran are bound to the house of Du Couteau: my father, myself, and Talon. Challenge us, if you dare."

League Judgement

Candidate:TalonDate: 23 August, 21 CLE

OBSERVATION

Talon enters the Great Hall with wary anticipation, his gaze forward. The unknowing might consider him careless, but to his perceptive observers it is apparent that Talon is infinitely aware of every detail in his surroundings.

While his focus is sharp, Talon's mind is elsewhere. He hastens towards the massive double doors at the end of the hall and regards them impassively. His purpose lies far beyond the Reflection Chamber. What lies within is a necessary distraction, but hardly an obstacle. Blade in hand, he enters without pause.

REFLECTION

Talon was on the ground, his face pressed to the dirt-ridden cracks between black cobblestones. The world came into focus around him one piece at a time--first the stench of sewage, then the muffled cries of "stop, thief," and finally the walls of the dead-end alleyway, its corners piled high with reeking decay.

He needed nothing else to identify his location. He knew this alleyway-and the slums of Noxus-all too well.

Talon rolled onto his hands and knees. His arms and legs, gangly and darkened with dirt, stung and bled from fresh scrapes. The cries grew closer, coming for him. "Find that boy!"

Talon glanced about, quelling his panic. His eyes fell on what appeared to be a rotten plank of wood, half-covered in garbage and waste, in the shadowed corner of the alley. With what quickness he could muster, Talon scurried towards it, grabbing the rotten plank and tugging it aside. Beneath it, a small opening led under the alley wall and deep into the darkness. In a swift and painful motion, Talon twisted to drop himself down into the opening and slid the plank back into place.

He pressed his back to a muddy dirt wall as the muted sounds of confusion came from outside his hiding place. He remained perfectly still until his pursuers dispersed, their footsteps retreating and grumbled voices fading.

Talon tried to catch his breath. The wet air he gasped into his lungs reeked of rats and sewage. As the rush of adrenaline left him, he found himself stricken instead by the dull pain of hunger and, more pointedly, anger.

"Where was Kavyn," he growled to himself and looked down into the dark.

The plan had been simple. Their target had been a fruit merchant whose cart stood at the edge of the marketplace. Kavyn was to give the signal and, as Talon took what he could, Kavyn would create a distraction so that he could escape. He'd seen the signal, but moments later, as he filled his satchel with Kumungu berries, he caught the attention of half the marketplace. And worse, he'd lost the bag in his frantic escape through the slums.

With nothing gained but a painfully hungry stomach, Talon seethed with bitterness.

Talon turned and began to crawl down the passage. Before long, his fingers and knees squelched as the ground beneath him became wet and cold-he'd reached the old and unused pipe that led into Noxus- underground chambers, most of them connected to the sewer network.

It isn't the first time that Kavyn has failed me like this, Talon thought as the passage sloped downward. With the pain in his stomach and the weakness in his limbs, he couldn't help but recall instead the times he'd succeeded alone, fending for himself without dependence on anyone else.

Finally, the pipe opened over a small chamber, its space filled with makeshift furniture and garbage scraps. Far below the western edge of the chamber, where a sheer drop took the place of a wall, a foul river carried Noxian sewage out of the city. Talon twisted within the pipe's cramped space and dropped down.

"You made it back!"

Talon whirled. Kavyn stood against the wall below the pipe's mouth, lighting a match. The flickering flame revealed a boy hardly older than Talon himself and just as rough and dirty, his brown hair a matted mess on his head.

"Where were you?" Talon snarled.

"Never mind that," Kavyn dropped the lit match onto a small pile of trash beneath him, which instantly caught and cast a wavering light about the chamber. "Did you get anything?"

He saw a twitch of unease in Kavyn's expression, and his eyes flicked to a small and nearly-empty crate in one corner of the chamber, where they usually kept their stores of stolen food. "Oh."

"Where were you?"

The other boy held up his hands. "Just hold on," he said. "I've got something." Kavyn tugged at his tattered leather belt, revealing two sheaths at his side that Talon had never seen before. From within them, Kavyn withdrew a pair of short daggers. Their blades shone like gold in the firelight, and Talon's eyes widened.

"Listen," said Kavyn, tearing Talon's covetous gaze away. "We can sell them. It doesn't matter that you lost the food."

Talon bristled, but the comment fazed him far less than it should have. He looked back to the daggers, which Kavyn held flat in his palm as though they'd slice him open if he wiggled a finger.

"I stole them from a drunk near the market tavern," Kavyn explained. "That's where I went. I thought--well, we'll make enough to eat for a few days with these, right? And..."

He continued to explain himself, but Talon no longer heard him. He reached a hand forward for one of the blades. As he held it, Talon became immediately aware of its shoddy quality, its weight imbalance, the way the hilt splintered. It was hardly suited for cutting meat, let alone use in combat. The blade had three worn notches and Talon ran his finger gently against them, just enough to feel its sharpness--one, two, three. He was possessed by the feel of it in his hand. The blade empowered him.

Kavyn had stopped talking and turned to pull the remaining potatoes from their crate. I was nearly caught because of this foolish boy, Talon thought, the bitter, hateful fire lit again within him. He knew he'd have inevitably been killed, for such is the Noxian way.

Talon ran his fingers along the blade's notches again. The Noxian way... he'd heard that before, in whispers on the streets. The strongest find their way out of the gutter. Weapons were coveted things, weapons--even a simple pair of daggers--were the key to survival. Another whisper, one he'd heard again and again, echoed in his mind: The strong rely on no one but themselves.

Talon clenched the blade in his fist and dashed forward, reaching to put the dagger to Kavyn's throat...

...but the boy whirled around and caught Talon's wrist, blocking his attack. Talon stood shocked. This is wrong, he thought. He remembered the blood on his hands, he remembered dropping the body into the sewer--the first of many.

Kavyn spoke, but the voice was not his own: "Why do you want to join the League, Talon?"

"For General Du Couteau," Talon said. The sewer chamber began to fade to darkness around them. Talon felt the weight of his bladed cloak returning to his shoulders, the illusion shattered. "My search has led me here."

"You fight for yourself," said the summoner imitating Kavyn's form. "You have no allies. You kill to survive, yet you follow at this vanished General's heels like a dog on a leash. Why?"

Talon tried to wrench his arm away, yet he found himself paralyzed not by the summoner's physical strength but by some magical intervention. "I am in his debt. The General spared my life."

"Is your debt not paid? After you spilled the blood of the boy called Kavyn, you swore allegiance to no one. You killed without remorse, and while you killed for Du Couteau until the day he vanished, you may now have freedom if you wish it. Why do you want to join the League, Talon?"

"You misunderstand," Talon hissed. "In the slums of Noxus I killed to survive. Under Du Couteau I killed in his name, but my life was my own. Now--I am nothing, yet I still have my blades. What other purpose can my blades serve?"

"How does it feel, exposing your mind?"

The summoner released him. Talon grasped his cloak and vanished into the dark, leaving the Reflecting Chamber in utter silence. The summoner glanced back and forth, scowling, and stiffened when Talon's blade appeared at his throat.

"Unpleasant," Talon growled into his ear. "Necessary."

And he was gone.

Development

Talon was designed by Ziegler.

Old Classic Splash Art

Talon concept 1

Talon concept 2

Talon concept 3

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Champion Sneak Peek

Announcement made in the Sneak Peek by Average Gatsby:

Talon's teaser image

It takes a truly resourceful gentleman to seamlessly combine function and style, particularly on the battlefield. It should come as no surprise, then, that the upcoming champion of the League is a man of both utility and flair.

Allow me to introduce Talon, the Blade's Shadow. In addition to looking every bit the part of the cloaked and cowled assassin that he is, Talon's cloak of blades makes him a dangerous and terrifying presence on the battlefield. It's probably best to steer clear of this cloaked and dangerous champion on the Field of Justice, or he won't be the only one pulling a disappearing act.

Mechanics Preview

Announcement made in the Sneak Peek by Morello:
Greetings, Summoners!

Today we wanted to bring you a peek into the mechanics behind Talon, the Blade's Shadow, the new assassin that's joining the League!

Talon, the Blade's Shadow, is a physical damage assassin who specializes in high-mobility, high-risk, high-reward gameplay. Our goal with Talon was to create a powerful but fragile melee character with specialized tools to make him both deadly and evasive. As a result, what Talon lacks in durability and sustain, he dishes out in mobility and power.

The driving force behind Talon's gameplay is the way that he engages and disengages from combat using his four abilities:

Cutthroat: An ability that allows Talon to catch his enemies by surprise. Talon leaps behind his target and silences them for a short duration, amplifying the damage of any of his follow up attacks and abilities.

Noxian Diplomacy: Talon viciously stabs his enemy, dealing heavy physical damage and causing them to leave a blood trail that Talon can use to track them.

Rake: Talon fans out three blades in front of him that quickly return to him, dealing damage and slowing any target hit in either direction.

Shadow Assault (Ultimate): Talon enters stealth for a short duration, gaining a movement speed boost and sending blades that deal damage to all enemies in their path flying in every direction. Once the blades reach a certain distance, they pause and form a circle. When Talon reappears from stealth, the blades return to him, once again dealing damage to any opponent they pass through.

Mercy (Innate): Talon's auto-attacks deal additional damage to a target that is under the influence of any crowd control effect.

Playing Talon effectively is all about reading the situation and reacting strategically to your target. Shadow Assault can be either your saving grace or your deadliest advance. Using it to disappear can sting your target and leave them chasing ghosts. But if it's a fight you want, using it to initiate in conjuction with Cutthroat, Noxian Diplomacy, and Mercy can deal significant burst damage.

To sum up, Talon's a mean, shadowy, vicious assassin... and we're excited to see him join the League soon. And as a side note, his mobility and elusiveness makes him a very good pick on Dominion!

Talon enters stealth for a short duration, gaining a movement speed boost and sending blades that deal damage to all enemies in their path flying in every direction. Once the blades reach a certain distance, they pause and form a circle. When Talon reappears from stealth, the blades return to him, once again dealing damage to any opponent they pass through.